Creative Writing PHD

[Jobabob]

Has anyone here done, or doing a creative writing PHD? I'm wondering what the full-time workload is like. How many hours a week of concentrated study/ writing should I expect to be doing if I successfully pace myself throughout the year?

This is the board for people working in academia, I think you need university education . If you report your post to ask HQ they will move it for you.

P.s. not my research area by a long shot, but FWIW, I recommend to my PhD students to make a full-time commitment if they want to complete on time.

We academics can answer this easily: a full-time PhD is full-time. A minimum commitment of 40 hours a week. If you're offered some part-time hourly-paid teaching (we offer this to suitable PhD students from their second year) then that would be on top of your primary commitment to your PhD. A full-time PhD in any field is your main job.

Absolutely full time. Also a big part of your success in the next step will be networking. If you were to try to do significant work outside of the programme, you would likely cut yourself off from the socialising and networking that you can not get back later. I would not take on this commitment without having full tint capacity plus making yourself available to take part in outside class activities.

I'm an author with an MA in creative writing and I can't help wondering what you think a PhD would add to your writing life.

The same as an MA in terms of personal achievement and accountability but with the opportunity to work on a single creative project while responding to related academic questions - very different from being an author though it will undoubtedly make me a better writer. If someone simply wants to write a book - they may find a phd more of a distraction than a help.

Thinking of part time PhD students I've supervised, all but one have been doing their PhD alongside paid work. However in all these cases the work was very relevant to their PhD and their employers supported them in terms of time off, some recognition of the PhD as professional development, etc.

That said I can think of a couple of friends who actually have managed to complete an arts based PhD alongside full time, fairly senior, roles. And they had kids. Honestly I don't know how they did it but they did.

I'd have a very honest chat with potential supervisors. I'd also look at a few different options for unis. You need supervisors and a PhD programme that recognises, understands and is set up to support part time study properly - not just as 'not full time'. Little things like when you are expected to submit work, frequency of meetings etc.

I've known a few people do creative writing PhDs and it's always been later in life, self funded and part time....so that makes me think you might find it easier to find supervisors who get what you are doing and what you need?